The End of the Season...

Positano, Italy

October 19, 2007
N40°37.647
E014°28.876

The season is coming to an end in Positano. Restaurants and bars lining the water’s edge are being slowly dismantled; a new section disappears every day. The number of beach chairs and umbrellas has diminished since our first day, as have the occupants that lounged in the chairs just a few days ago. Our bartenders spend the majority of their day sanding the sun-beat lacquer off their bar chairs; preparing them for a new coat of lacquer come next May.

During the day the fall sun radiates off the water turning it into a sea of blue mercury. Slowing fading in the afternoon, the mountains embracing the village gradually turn a vibrant orange. As the sun disappears to the west side of the town the cold fall winds see their opening and rush in; chilling our toes that were just moments earlier toasty in the sun.

As we enjoyed the views from our roof top terrace of the Tyrranian we met a few nice ladies. Di and Caroline, from Australia, arrived in Positano a day after us. We gave them a few tips on the neighborhood, where to get the good cheap wine and tips on how to use an international phone card. In exchange, we heard some great stories of Di’s grandfather’s 100th birthday, hopes and dreams of being arrested by hot Italian policemen, and some incredible travel stories about Vietnam, China and Hong Kong. The nights seemed to fly by as we munched on snacks from the local deli, drank wine and just chatted for hours.

Fall is definitely approaching. Last night we retreated to the confines of our room just before for a thunderstorm hit. I have never heard such a display of anger from the skies. A brief flash of light and seconds later a massive clap of thunder would slam across the hills of Positano; echoing back and forth, trapped and trying to escape.

Luckily, the weather recovered for our last day in this boutique, seaside city that will be linked hand-in-hand with Monterey forever in my mind, thanks to the words of John Steinbeck—not to mention the high end shops, tourists, steep cliffs and postcard pictures.